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The Examen - The First Principle and Foundation
261 Plays2 years ago
Today Gretchen Crowder shares with you the audio of a reflection and examen that were first shared as a video on the Central and Southern Jesuit Province website as part of a Lenten Series for the 2024 Lenten Season.
This Examen is based on a contemporary version of the First Principle and Foundation of St. Ignatius by David L Fleming, S.J.
You can find the video and access the Lenten Series here: https://www.jesuitscentralsouthern.org/spirituality/lent-2024/
You can follow the Central and Southern Jesuit Province and learn more about the Society of Jesus by following @JesuitsUCS (X) or @jesuitscentralsouthern (Instagram)
Much gratitude to the UCS Province communications team for the beautiful artwork for this series!
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If you think you or someone you know has a story that would fit this podcast, please contact Gretchen Crowder at lovedasyouarepod@gmail.com
You can find Gretchen @gdcrowder on social and @lovedasyouarepod on Instagram.
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Transcript
Introduction & Reflection
00:00:00
Speaker
Hello and welcome back to Loved as You Are in Ignatian podcast. I wanted to hop on here and share with you the audio of a reflection and examine that were first shared as a video on the Central and Southern Jesuit Province website as part of a Lenten series for the 2024 Lenten season.
Understanding Disordered Attachments
00:00:17
Speaker
This examine is based on a contemporary version of the first principle and foundation of St. Ignatius.
00:00:24
Speaker
I hope it is helpful to you as we continue this Lenten journey together, learning to lean ever more into our belovedness.
00:00:50
Speaker
The first time I really heard the message that I was loved as I was, no matter what, was when I engaged with the first principle and foundation at the start of the spiritual exercises.
Openness to God's Love
00:01:03
Speaker
The first principle is an invitation to freedom. It's an invitation to take stock of those things that for us, right now, are the disordered affections or disordered attachments that are standing in the way of our relationship with God.
00:01:20
Speaker
It's an invitation to true openness for the graces that the spiritual exercises will provide. When Jesus was in the desert for 40 days, he was able to resist all the temptations the devil laid before him. Are we able to do the same?
00:01:39
Speaker
As we begin this journey of Lent together with a desire to understand our belovedness in a new way, it makes sense to start where Ignatius did, with the first principle and foundation. Let's spend some time together examining our openness to a relationship with the God that loves us as we are, no matter what, and wants nothing more than for us to accept this love.
Beginning the Examine
00:02:08
Speaker
and let's spend some time reflecting on what might be getting in our way. The following examine is based on the contemporary version of the first principle and foundation by David L. Fleming, S.J. Let us begin in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Reflecting on Life Goals
00:02:30
Speaker
Amen. The goal of our life is to live with God forever.
00:02:46
Speaker
I spend a moment telling God my present goals for my life, my work, and or my relationships. What am I focusing my energies on right now?
00:03:14
Speaker
God who loves us gave us life. Our own response of love allows God's life to flow into us without limit.
Recognizing and Being Grateful for Gifts
00:03:30
Speaker
How is what I'm focusing on a demonstration of love for others or for God?
00:03:52
Speaker
How is what I am focusing on a celebration of the life God so lovingly gave me? All the things in this world are gifts from God, presented to us so that we can know God more easily and make a return of love more readily.
00:04:28
Speaker
What are the top things, gifts from God to the world in my life right now that help me survive? What are the top things, gifts from God to the world in my life right now that help me thrive?
Identifying Hindrances to Growth
00:05:06
Speaker
As a result, we appreciate and use all these gifts of God, insofar as they help us develop as loving persons. I spend a moment thanking God for these gifts, particularly the ones that I believe are helping me love others well.
00:05:47
Speaker
But if any of these gifts become the center of our lives, they displace God and so hinder our growth toward our goal. I ask God to show me things on my list that are hindering growth towards the present goals I named at the start of this exam.
00:06:17
Speaker
I ask God to show me the things on my list that I have become too dependent on in a way that keeps me from loving others, from loving God well.
Maintaining Balance and Freedom
00:06:36
Speaker
I spend a moment seeking forgiveness for all the times I have displaced God for my own desires.
00:06:44
Speaker
not believing that God truly wants what I want deep down inside. In everyday life then, we must hold ourselves in balance before all of these created gifts insofar as we have a choice and are not bound by some obligation.
00:07:09
Speaker
We should not fix our desires on health or sickness, wealth or poverty, success or failure, a long life or a short one. I spend a moment reflecting on balance. Am I taking adequate care of all areas of my life, the mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual areas?
00:07:34
Speaker
In what areas am I holding fast to my desires? And in what areas am I allowing myself to be free to accept what comes? For everything has the potential of calling forth in us a deeper response to our life in God
Choosing Deeper Relationship with God
00:08:09
Speaker
I ask God to bring to the surface and then release me from the attachments that have become disordered in my life so that I may feel the magnanimous love offered to me. Our only desire and our one choice should be this. I want and I choose what better leads to God's deepening life in me.
00:08:41
Speaker
Help me God, to realize that every goal I have for my life, my work or my relationships means nothing if it is not built on the foundation of my relationship with you. Increase my awareness throughout this week ahead of your love for me, the love that has always been and will always be.
00:09:10
Speaker
Increase my awareness that no matter what lies ahead, you love me as I am no matter what. Amen.